'''Cantonese''' (廣東話 Gwóngdūngwáh) is a widely spoken [[Chinese phrasebook|Chinese]] language. It is the local language in current use within the province of [[Guangdong]], [[China]], official language in the Special Administrative Region of [[Hong Kong]], as well as in the Special Administrative Region of [[Macau]], and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Chicago]], [[London]], [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Perth]], [[Vancouver]], [[Toronto]] and [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern [[Guangxi]] Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.

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'''Cantonese''' (廣東話 Gwóng dōng wá) is a widely spoken [[Chinese phrasebook|Chinese]] language. It is the local language in current use within the province of [[Guangdong]], [[China]], official language in the Special Administrative Region of [[Hong Kong]], as well as in the Special Administrative Region of [[Macau]], and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Chicago]], [[London]], [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Perth]], [[Vancouver]], [[Toronto]], [[Singapore]] and [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern [[Guangxi]] Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.

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The word "dialect" means something different when applied to Chinese than it does for most other languages. Chinese "dialects" have not only widely diverging pronunciations of the same words, but also use different words for expressing the same thing, and different grammar such as different word order. As a result, different Chinese dialects can be mutually unintelligible. The difference between one dialect and another can be as small as that between, say, Spanish and Portuguese, or as large as that between German and English. Meanwhile, there are different variations of the Cantonese dialect that differ greatly from one another. For example, the Cantonese spoken in the far west of Guangdong province (eg. [[Taishan]]) is hardly or not at all intelligible to a native of Guangzhou city.

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Chinese languages are mutually unintelligible, with difference ranging from that between [[Italian]] and [[French]] to that between English and [[Swedish]], which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".

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Speakers of all Chinese varieties do, in general, use the same characters in reading and writing. Written language is more formal and closer to standard Mandarin ''Póutūngwáh'' ([[Chinese phrasebook|Mandarin]]), even when used by Cantonese speakers. Oral Cantonese contains many words for which there has traditionally not existed a written form. In recent decades, however, characters for many of these words have been created, chiefly by the Hong Kong popular printed media such as newspapers and magazines. It should be noted that the different Cantonese-speaking communities use one of two different forms of writing: in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and many overseas Chinese communities, ''traditional'' Chinese characters are in use, whereas the Cantonese-speaking communities in mainland China's Guangdong province as well as Singapore use ''simplified'' Chinese characters.

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All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing in formal settings. A [[Cantonese]] speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.

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In many cases the regional varieties are not clearly regionalised but vary gradually across a region. Thus linguists can identify anywhere between seven and seventeen separate Chinese languages where the speakers of different dialects are mutually unintelligible. This list is based on the Cantonese spoken in [[Guangzhou]]. Note that the Cantonese spoken in [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] differ slightly due to Western influences, though standard Cantonese as spoken in Guangzhou would be understood by everyone. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to [[Malay phrasebook|Malay]] influences.

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There are different local languages in Guangdong that are sometimes considered Cantonese dialects but in fact are separate languages, such as Taishanese, spoken in [[Taishan]] in the far west of Guangdong. However, most people throughout Guangdong know how to speak standard Cantonese (Guangzhou dialect) and Hongkongers and Macanese speak standard Cantonese with slight influences from Western languages, especially from English in Hong Kong Cantonese. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to [[Malay]] influences.

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Some of the phrases in the list cannot be translated from English to Cantonese.

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Some of the phrases in the list are difficult to translate from English to Cantonese.

==Pronunciation guide==

==Pronunciation guide==

−

The pronunciations given in this guidebook use the Yale Romanization system. Sounds can only be approximated at best using romanisation. This guide gives a general indication of the correct sound to make, but the best way to be completely accurate is to listen closely to native speakers and mimic the sounds they make.

+

The pronunciations given in this guidebook use the Yale Romanization system. Sounds can only be approximated at best. This guide gives a general indication of the correct sound to make, but the best way to be completely accurate is to listen closely to native speakers and to mimic the sounds they make.

===Consonants===

===Consonants===

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|-

|-

|b

|b

−

|'''b''' in "'''b'''all"

+

|'''p''' in "s'''p'''ort"

|-

|-

|p

|p

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|-

|-

|d

|d

−

|'''d''' in "'''d'''og"

+

|'''t''' in "s'''t'''op"

|-

|-

|t

|t

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|-

|-

|g

|g

−

|'''g''' in "'''g'''ood"

+

|'''k''' in "s'''k'''y"

|-

|-

|k

|k

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|-

|-

|j

|j

−

|blend of the '''z''' in "Mo'''z'''art" and the '''j''' in "'''j'''udge"

+

|'''zz''' as in "pi'''zz'''a"

|-

|-

|ch

|ch

−

|blend of the '''ts''' in "ca'''ts'''" and the '''ch''' in "'''ch'''urch"

+

|'''ts''' as in "'''ts'''unami"

|-

|-

|s

|s

Line 64:

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|-

|-

|gw

|gw

−

|'''gw''' as in "ho'''gw'''ash"

+

|'''qu''' as in "s'''qu'''are"

|-

|-

|kw

|kw

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|-

|-

|aan

|aan

−

|'''awn''' as in "p'''awn'''"

+

|'''an''' as in "Taiw'''an'''"

|-

|-

|aang

|aang

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|-

|-

|aap

|aap

−

|'''op''' as in "'''op'''t"

+

|'''ap''' as in "t'''ap'''"

|-

|-

|aat

|aat

−

|'''ought''' as in "'''ought'''"

+

|'''at''' as in "h'''at'''"

|-

|-

|aak

|aak

−

|'''alk''' as in "t'''alk'''"

+

|'''ack''' as in "b'''ack'''"

|-

|-

|ai

|ai

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|-

|-

|eng

|eng

−

|'''eng''' as in "p'''eng'''uin"

+

|'''eng''' as in "l'''eng'''th"

|-

|-

|ek

|ek

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|-

|-

|o

|o

−

|'''aw''' as in "p'''aw'''" (British English)

+

|'''aw''' as in "p'''aw'''"

|-

|-

|oi

|oi

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|-

|-

|on

|on

−

|'''orn''' as in "sc'''orn'''" (British English)

+

|'''awn''' as in "p'''awn'''"

|-

|-

|ong

|ong

−

|'''ong''' as in "s'''ong'''" (British English)

+

|'''ong''' as in "s'''ong'''"

|-

|-

|ot

|ot

−

|'''ot''' as in "h'''ot'''" (British English)

+

|'''aught''' as in "c'''aught'''"

|-

|-

|ok

|ok

−

|'''ock''' as in "st'''ock'''" (British English)

+

|'''alk''' as in "w'''alk'''"

|-

|-

|u

|u

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|-

|-

|ung

|ung

−

|combination of '''ou''' and '''ng'''

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|'''ung''' as in "Band'''u'''ng"

|-

|-

|ut

|ut

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|-

|-

|uk

|uk

−

|'''oke''' as in "j'''oke'''"

+

|'''ook''' as in "b'''ook'''"

|-

|-

|eu

|eu

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|-

|-

|eui

|eui

−

|'''eui''' as in "d'''eui'''l" (French)

+

|'''o''' as in "n'''o'''" (British English)

|-

|-

|eun

|eun

−

|'''ine''' as in "eng'''ine'''"

+

|'''on''' as in "pers'''on'''"

|-

|-

|eut

|eut

−

|'''ut''' as in "p'''ut'''"

+

|'''ot''' as in "carr'''ot'''"

|-

|-

|yu

|yu

−

|'''u''' as in "t'''u'''" (French)

+

|Somewhat like '''ew''' as in "f'''ew'''"

|-

|-

|yun

|yun

−

|'''un''' as in "'''un'''ion"

+

|Somewhat like '''une''' as in "t'''une'''"

|-

|-

|yut

|yut

−

|'''Ut''' as in "'''Ut'''ah"

+

|Somewhat like '''ute''' as in "c'''ute'''"

|-

|-

|m

|m

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}}

}}

; Hello. : 你好. Néih hóu.

; Hello. : 你好. Néih hóu.

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; How are you? (''rarely used in Cantonese''): 你好嗎? Néih hóu ma?

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; How are you? : 你好嗎? Néih hóu ma?

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; How are you recently? (''more popular in daily usage''): 近排點呀 Gahnpàaih dím a? (''informal'')

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; How are you recently? (''more popular in daily usage''): 近排點呀? Gahnpàaih dím a? (''informal'')

Revision as of 11:01, 2 September 2013

Cantonese (廣東話 Gwóng dōng wá) is a widely spoken Chinese language. It is the local language in current use within the province of Guangdong, China, official language in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, as well as in the Special Administrative Region of Macau, and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Chicago, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern Guangxi Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.

Chinese languages are mutually unintelligible, with difference ranging from that between Italian and French to that between English and Swedish, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".

All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing in formal settings. A Cantonese speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.

There are different local languages in Guangdong that are sometimes considered Cantonese dialects but in fact are separate languages, such as Taishanese, spoken in Taishan in the far west of Guangdong. However, most people throughout Guangdong know how to speak standard Cantonese (Guangzhou dialect) and Hongkongers and Macanese speak standard Cantonese with slight influences from Western languages, especially from English in Hong Kong Cantonese. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to Malay influences.

Some of the phrases in the list are difficult to translate from English to Cantonese.

Pronunciation guide

The pronunciations given in this guidebook use the Yale Romanization system. Sounds can only be approximated at best. This guide gives a general indication of the correct sound to make, but the best way to be completely accurate is to listen closely to native speakers and to mimic the sounds they make.

Consonants

Yale

Pronunciation

b

p in "sport"

p

p as in "pat"

m

m as in "mom"

f

f as in "foot"

d

t in "stop"

t

t as in "top"

n

n as in "not"

l

l as in "lap"

g

k in "sky"

k

k as in "kite"

ng

ng as in "singer"

h

h as in "hot"

j

zz as in "pizza"

ch

ts as in "tsunami"

s

s as in "sleep"

gw

qu as in "square"

kw

qu as in "quark"

y

y as in "yard"

w

w as in "want"

Finals

The final consonants p, t, and k are unreleased. This means that they are virtually silent and you hear no "puff of air" at the end of the syllable.

Yale

Pronunciation

aa

a as in "spa"

aai

igh as in "sigh"

aau

ow as in "how"

aam

am as in "Vietnam"

aan

an as in "Taiwan"

aang

combination of aa and ng

aap

ap as in "tap"

aat

at as in "hat"

aak

ack as in "back"

ai

i as in "kite"

au

ou as in "scout"

am

ome as in "some"

an

un as in "sun"

ang

ung as in "lung"

ap

up as in "cup"

at

ut as in "cut"

ak

uc as in "suck"

e

e as in "bet"

ei

ay as in "say"

em

em as in "temple"

eng

eng as in "length"

ek

eck as in "peck"

i

ee as in "tee"

iu

ew as in "few"

im

eem as in "seem"

in

een as in "seen"

ing

ing as in "sing"

ip

eep as in "sleep"

it

eet as in "meet"

ik

ick as in "sick"

o

aw as in "paw"

oi

oy as in "boy"

ou

oe as in "toe"

on

awn as in "pawn"

ong

ong as in "song"

ot

aught as in "caught"

ok

alk as in "walk"

u

oo as in "coo"

ui

ooey as in "gooey"

un

oon as in "soon"

ung

ung as in "Bandung"

ut

oot as in "boot"

uk

ook as in "book"

eu

er as in "her" (Britsh English, with rounded lips)

eung

combination of eu and ng

euk

ork as in "work" (British English)

eui

o as in "no" (British English)

eun

on as in "person"

eut

ot as in "carrot"

yu

Somewhat like ew as in "few"

yun

Somewhat like une as in "tune"

yut

Somewhat like ute as in "cute"

m

mm as in "hmm"

ng

ng as in "sing"

Tones

Cantonese is a tonal language. This means that the same syllable, pronounced in a different tone, has a different meaning. To complicate this, there may be more than one character pronounced as the same syllable with the same tone (though this is uncommon). In this case, context usually helps resolve the ambiguity. This may sound daunting, but is in fact is better than say, English, where there are a great deal of words that are spoken identically (eg. their, there, they're) and have nothing but context to help determine which one it is. Cantonese has context and tone to help distinguish words.

Different variations of the Cantonese dialect have a different number of tones, from as few as six to as many as ten or more. Most speakers, however, and all modern linguistic interpretations get by with being able to distinguish (both in spoken and heard Cantonese) between the following six tones:

Yale

Description

Start-to-end pitch

Yale

Description

Start-to-end pitch

1

ā

High Level

4

àh

Low Falling

2

á

Mid Rising

5

áh

Low Rising

3

a

Mid Level

6

ah

Low Level

The tonal pronunciation of Cantonese is by far the most difficult aspect of the often daunting language. The very minor initial difficulty in learning the tones is sometimes more than made up for by simple grammar, and absence of almost all plurals, genders, tenses and forms that make many other world languages seem difficult by comparison.

Phrase list

Basics

To be or not to be?
Cantonese, as in Chinese, does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Common ones include:

對唔住. Deui-m̀h-jyuh. (In Hong Kong, it's more common to use the English word "sorry" instead)

Goodbye (formal)

再見 Joigin.

Goodbye (informal)

拜拜 Bāaibaai.

I can't speak Cantonese.

我唔識講廣東話. Ngóh m̀h'sīk góng Gwóngdōngwá.

Do you speak English?

你識唔識講英文呀? Néih sīk-m̀h-sīk góng Yīngmán a?

Is there someone here who speaks English?

呢度有冇人識講英文呀? nī douh yáuh móuh yàhn sīk góng Yīngmán a?

Help!

救命呀! Gau mehng ā!

Look out!

小心! Síusām!

Good morning.

早晨. Jóusàhn.

I don't understand.

我唔明. Ngóh m̀h'mìhng.

Where is the toilet?

廁所喺邊度呀? Chi só hái bīn douh a?

Problems

Leave me alone.

唔好搞我. M̀h'hóu gáau ngóh.

Don't touch me!

唔好掂我! M̀h'hóu dihm ngóh!

I'll call the police.

我會叫警察. Ngóh wúih giu gíngchaat.

Police!

警察! Gíngchaat!

Stop! Thief!

咪走! 賊仔! Máih jáu! Chaahkjái!

Please help me.

唔該幫我. M̀h'gōi bōng ngóh.

It's an emergency.

好緊急. Hóu gán'gāp.

I'm lost.

我蕩失路. Ngóh dohngsāt louh.

I lost my bag.

我唔見咗個袋. Ngóh m̀h'gin jó go doih.

I dropped my wallet.

我跌咗個銀包. Ngóh dit jó go ngàhn bāau.

I don't feel well.

我唔舒服. Ngóh m̀h syūfuhk.

I've been injured.

我受咗傷. Ngóh sauh jó sēung.

Please call a doctor.

唔該幫我叫醫生. M̀h'gōi bōng ngóh giu yīsāng.

Can I use your phone?

可唔可以借個電話用呀? Hó-m̀h-hó'yi je go dihnwáh yuhng a?

Numbers

1

一 yāt

2

二 yih

3

三 sāam

4

四 sei

5

五 ńgh

6

六 luhk

7

七 chāt

8

八 baat

9

九 gáu

10

十 sahp

11

十一 sahpyāt

12

十二 sahpyih

13

十三 sahpsāam

14

十四 sahpsei

15

十五 sahpńgh

16

十六 sahpluhk

17

十七 sahpchāt

18

十八 sahpbaat

19

十九 sahpgáu

20

二十 yihsahp

21

二十一 yihsahpyāt

22

二十二 yihsahpyih

23

二十三 yihsahpsāam

30

三十 sāamsahp

40

四十 seisahp

50

五十 ńghsahp

60

六十 luhksahp

70

七十 chātsahp

80

八十 baatsahp

90

九十 gáusahp

100

一百 yātbaak

200

二百 yihbaak

300

三百 sāambaak

1000

一千 yātchīn

2000

二千 yihchīn

10,000

一萬 yātmaahn

100,000

十萬 sahpmaahn

1,000,000

一百萬 yātbaakmaahn

10,000,000

一千萬 yātchīnmaahn

100,000,000

一億 yātyīk

1,000,000,000

十億 sahpyīk

10,000,000,000

一百億 yātbaakyīk

100,000,000,000

一千億 yātchīnyīk

1,000,000,000,000

一兆 yātsiuh

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

_____號 houh

half

半 bun

less

小 síu

more

多 dō

Time

now

而家 yīgā

late

遲 chìh

early

早 jóu

morning

朝早 jīujóu

afternoon

晏晝 ngaanjau

evening

夜晚 yeh máahn

Clock time

one o'clock

一點 yāt dím

two o'clock

兩點 léuhng dím (not 二點)

two five

兩點一 / 兩點踏一 léuhng dím yāt/léuhng dím daahp yāt

two ten

兩點二 / 兩點踏二 léuhng dím yih/léuhng dím daahp yih

two fifteen/Quarter past two

兩點三 / 兩點踏三 léuhng dím sāam/léuhng dím daahp sāam

two thirty/Half past two

兩點半 léuhng dím bun (not 兩點六 / 兩點踏六)

two forty-five/Quarter to three

兩點九 / 兩點踏九 léuhng dím gáu/léuhng dím daahp gáu

two fifty

兩點十 / 兩點踏十 léuhng dím sahp/léuhng dím daahp sahp

two fifty-five

兩點踏十一 léuhng dím daahp sahpyāt (not 兩點十一)

two fifty-seven

兩點五十七分 léuhng dím ńghsahpchāt fān

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____ 分鐘 fānjūng

_____ hour(s)

_____ 個鐘 gor jūng

_____ day(s)

_____ 日 yaht

_____ week(s)

_____ 個禮拜 gor láihbaai

_____ month(s)

_____ 個月 gor yuht

_____ year(s)

_____ 年 nìhn

Days

today

今日 gām'yaht

yesterday

尋日 chàhm'yaht

tomorrow

聽日 tīngyaht

the day before last

前日 chìhnyaht

the day after tomorrow

後日 hauh'yaht

this week

今個禮拜 gām go láihbaai

last week

上個禮拜 seuhng go láihbaai

next week

下個禮拜 hah go láihbaai

Sunday

禮拜日 láihbaai yaht

Monday

禮拜一 láihbaai yāt

Tuesday

禮拜二 láihbaai yih

Wednesday

禮拜三 láihbaai sāam

Thursday

禮拜四 láihbaai sei

Friday

禮拜五 láihbaai ńgh

Saturday

禮拜六 láihbaai luhk

Months

January

一月 yāt'yuht

February

二月 yih'yuht

March

三月 sāam'yuht

April

四月 seiyuht

May

五月 ńgh'yuht

June

六月 luhk'yuht

July

七月 chāt'yuht

August

八月 baat'yuht

September

九月 gáuyuht

October

十月 sahpyuht

November

十一月 sahpyāt'yuht

December

十二月 sahpyih'yuht

Colors

black

黑色 hāk sīk

white

白色 baahk sīk

gray

灰色 fūi sīk

red

紅色 hùhng sīk

blue

藍色 làahm̀ sīk

yellow

黃色 wòhng sīk

green

綠色 luhk sīk

orange

橙色 chàahng sīk

purple

紫色 jí sīk

brown

啡色 fē sīk

pink

粉紅色 fán hùhng sīk

Transportation

Bus and train

In Cantonese, "train" is translated into 火車 (fóchē) and "bus" is 巴士 (bāsí). The language uses measure words or numeral classifiers before the actual nouns. In context of the following examples, the respective Cantonese measure words for 火車 and 巴士 are 班 (bāan) and 架 (ga).